One Phone Call
by UniqaChica
Summary: Castle gets a phone call in the Hamptons, sending him straight back to Manhattan.  Rated 'cuz I'm paranoid.


(A/N: My first Castle fanfic! This is sooo overdue, it's not even funny! Don't ask me why I like hurting people (*gasp* spoiler!) in romance stories, I just do! As you have probably guessed, it's a CastleXBeckett story. Is there any other? *gives weirdo BeckettXDemming fans dagger eyes* P.S. My writing style is a lot...cleaner than what the show gives us, but I'll turn a blind eye if I use a word or two. P.P.S. I'm going to assume that Beckett is staying with Lanie, 'cuz of her apartment getting blown to smithereens and whatnot.)

Summary: Castle gets a phone call in the Hamptons, sending him straight back to Manhattan.

Disclaimer: I _wish_ I owned Castle, 'cause if I did, there would be no stupid summer hiatuses (which is what drove me to write this thing in the first place) and Ryan and Martha would get a lot more screen time. But since neither of those happen, I don't own Castle. *weeps*

One Phone Call

A Castle/Beckett Fanfic

by Jill Diamond

Saying that the wind had been knocked out of her would have been an understatement. She felt she couldn't open her eyes, let alone move. Her body had gone completely numb. She could faintly hear the siren that she had become so accustomed with. It felt sickening to be on the other side of that siren.

Soon, she felt the restrain of her seat belt being removed, and her limp body being lifted out of her seat.

"I don't think she's all the way here," a gruff voice said over her.

"Get her to the hospital," said a second.

She desperately wanted to open her eyes and tell the unseen men that she was fine, but her eyes rolled back in her head instead, and she drifted off to sleep before the man could put her in the car.

His eyes were burning, for he dare not blink. All he saw was the blindingly-white screen and the small black letters that danced across. He didn't get these surges of sheer inspiration very often, so when one hit him in the middle of the night, he wasn't surprised. It was a testy, emotional scene between Nikki and Rook, and Nikki had her gun. He could faintly feel a bead of cold sweat form on the side of his forehead.

_"Nikki, put the gun down. We can work this out!"_

_"I don't think so. After what you did, I'm not going to let you sweet talk me again."_

_"Nikki, listen to yourself!"_

The sudden vibration jolted him out of his trance. The image of Nikki Heat's silhouette lit up his iPhone's previously black screen.

"Beckett" appeared at the top.

He wondered to himself why she would be calling him. He was taking a break from his shadowing, and she knew he was staying in the Hamptons.

He let his finger hit the green button.

"Hello?" he answered skeptically, instead of his usual joke cracking.

"_Castle?_" replied Beckett's hoarse voice, along with a couple of groans.

"Are you alright?" he asked quietly, for not to wake up Gina.

"_How long will it take you to get to the hospital?_"Beckett inquired, ignoring the question but answering it at the same time.

"The hospital?" Castle's blood pressure rose, and he forgot about his sleeping companion.

"_I was in a...was in a car accident,_" she supplied, pausing to moan again.

"Car accident?" Castle shrieked, now realizing the eccentric snoring from the next room has ceased.

"_I'm fine. Just a couple cuts and bruises; the airbag took care of most of it. But my car is totaled and I'm stuck at the hospital._"

"I'll be right there," he said sternly, not waiting for a "goodbye". The cold sweat kept coming, but _Naked Heat_ was the least of his thoughts. All he could think about now was the real Nikki.

Gina groggily stepped through the open door of his study, whilst he was trying desperately to get one arm through his coat. She was sporting a very sexy nightgown and a sheer silk robe with fuzzy cuffs.

"Ricky, it's one in the morning. What the hell are you yelling for?" she asked while gently rubbing her eyes.

"I have to get to Manhattan," he stated bluntly. Now with both arms through his coat, he passed Gina through the door without a second glance. Frankly, he didn't really give her a first glance, either. His mind was racing a thousand miles a minute and he didn't have time to get distracted.

"At one in the morning?" Gina exclaimed, echoing herself.

"Don't wait up for me!" Castle hollered through the very large house.

"Richard!" the blond tried once more, using his full name. But it was no use.

He was already out the door.

His hands held the steering wheel like a vice, and he swore under his breath at practically every other red light. Finally, he picked out the red cross signaling the hospital from the thousand other fluorescent lights in the city. Castle became even more aggravated when he couldn't find a space by the curb, and had to park in the parking garage.

When he stepped into the blindingly white waiting room, he took all of her in. She was leaning up against the front desk, her dark hair (which looked like it had been wrung by her hands many times) covering most of her face. She was supporting herself on one leg, the other looked completely limp. He could see that one of her hands was wrapped up with a bandage.

At the electronic bell that sounded as he rushed through the door, she gazed up at him from her perch. Her eyes immediately gleamed in relief, and the fact that seeing him again brought a little normality back into her life.

"Beckett," he breathed. He sped-walked over to where she was leaning. Giving her a twice-over, he asked, "Are you okay?" for the second time that night.

"I'm fine; let's just go," she soothed, her voice still strained. As she started to back away from the desk and use her other foot, it gave out right from under her. But she didn't smack hard to the ground; she fell less-than-gracefully into Castle's extended arms.

"Kate!" he exclaimed.

Beckett's eyes went wide, and her abdomen shivered at his touch. He hadn't called her "Kate" since...

Since the explosion. When he had half a mind that she had been killed.

"Sheesh! I just tripped! You must have really missed me, Castle," she teased, trying to shake it off easily, but it still haunted the back of her mind.

She tried to stand upright again, but failed, collapsing into his arms again. Without warning, he placed her arm around his shoulders and made himself her left foot. She didn't protest, and was dragged like a rag doll out to the parking garage.

On the way back to Lanie's apartment, whenever Castle wasn't looking at the road, he was looking at Beckett. He could barely believe it himself. Here she was, the strongest woman that he had ever known, in shambles. It was a little scary, seeing her so out of character. She had barely spoken two words since they had gotten in the car. And what scared him more was that he didn't immediately think to use this moment for Nikki Heat. He was seeing her as a person, not as a muse.

Beckett could feel his eyes on her. She just knew what he was thinking, how pathetic she seemed, because of a tiny little car accident. She glanced down at her bandaged hand resting on her stomach. She shook her head in pity. _I'm a freakin' homicide detective; I shouldn't be acting like this. _She felt her free hand reach for the ring that hung like a pendant around her chain and gripped it for dear life, as if it would give her the courage that seemed to have been knocked out of her, along with the feeling in her left leg.

Castle tried to make light conversation. "So Detective," he began, half-turning into his old self again, "how many people did you have to call before you resorted to calling little ole' me?"

This only made Beckett's eyes widen. She felt almost embarrassed to tell him the truth.

"None," she whispered hoarsely after a very long, awkward pause.

It was like a slap in the face to Castle, but a good slap, if that was at all possible. Not even thinking about the traffic, his glance drifted toward her, who was now making her best attempt not to look at him.

"Castle! Watch the road!" she shrieked. His head snapped forward and he slammed on the breaks, jolting both of them forward in their seats. He had nearly had the worst fender-bender of his life. The sounds of various car horns and mouthy truckers were filling his ears.

Beckett's bandaged hand reached for her pounding heart. "I've already had one accident tonight, Castle, I don't need another one!" she heaved.

Once their little episode was over, Castle prodded the previous subject again. "You didn't even think to call Lanie, or even your dad?" he asked, more astonished than anything.

Beckett stared out the window, not wanting to answer but knew she had to. "No. You were the first person that came to mind."

"Well, surely you were thinking about me before you had the accident?" Castle asked, wanting to slap himself for acting so pessimistic.

"All I was thinking about was how I needed to get some gas."

Castle returned his eyes to the road, but his head was swimming with thoughts, and the corners of his mouth twitched into his famous smile. He knew that they had tolerated each other far better than since they had started their partnership, but this was a huge step. This showed that she could really trust him. Really depend on him. She wanted him to catch her when she fell.

Beckett glanced at him quickly. "Don't get so cocky," she warned. That only made Castle's grin grow wider, and more infectious. Before long, Beckett couldn't help but smile as well.

Quicker than either of them had wanted to, they had reached Lanie's apartment building. After Castle had parked (he was glad he found a spot on the curb this time), he ran around to the other side and opened Beckett's door, helping her out of the low-seated sports car. She stumbled a tiny bit getting out, but Castle was there to catch her.

Just like she wanted him to be.

She leaned on him again and was dragged to the narrow stairway that led to the door.

"Well, this is my stop."

"Try not to get yourself into any more trouble tonight, Detective," Castle teased in that special tone he loved to tease her in.

"Thank you, Castle," she tried to reply in a serious tone, but failed miserably.

Castle gently placed his hand on her shoulder, and leaned down give her a light kiss on the cheek, like he did that day he had given her a copy of _Storm Fall_.

Beckett's eyes fluttered closed, and she clumsily grabbed for his hand with her own. Once contact was made, her eyes opened again, and they stared deeply into his.

"Don't walk away again," she pleaded almost inaudibly. Without warning, she extended her neck and planted a kiss on his lips. His eyes closed, and he happily agreed, wrapping his arms around her upper back.

The kiss was not sexual in any way, and one watching could have spotted no passion what so ever. The kiss was plainly romantic, if anything. So long awaited, yet came at a completely unexpected time. Both of them never wanted it to cease, but knew it must, for both of them had to get some sleep.

Beckett gave him one last look before opening the door. "See you in the fall."

This time, saying it was much less painful.

_The End_

(A/N: Yay! Sorry if some of it doesn't make much sense, but there's still fluff nonetheless! =^.^= And hopefully, reading that final line was a lot less painful for all you Caskett fans out there. Okay, byeguyz!)


End file.
